7 Secrets to Getting an Incredible Smile Makeover

A smile makeover is a series of cosmetic dental procedures that aims to rebuild or restore your smile. This popular, comprehensive treatment employs solutions to straighten, whiten, realign, or otherwise enhance the natural beauty of your smile. While a smile makeover is primarily pursued for aesthetic reasons, the procedures incorporated may also address functional issues affecting the teeth, gums, or jaw.

To get the most out of your personalized smile makeover, our team at Newport Beach Dental suggests you keep the following expert tips in mind:

1. Choose a qualified dentist. Cosmetic dentistry requires a specialized educational background. For top-tier smile makeover results, it’s essential to work with someone who has extensive experience in this branch of oral healthcare. Moreover, make sure you’re comfortable communicating with your dentist, and that he or she makes you feel welcome from the very first visit.
2. Consider your smile makeover goals. Maybe you want to replace missing teeth, improve alignment, or whiten your smile. Or perhaps you’re looking to fix chips, gaps, or crowding. No matter your particular concerns, this is your treatment, and it will be planned according to your needs. Your first-time consultation with your dentist is a great opportunity to identify what you’d like to improve.
3. Choose your options with care. A high quality dental practice will have lots of aesthetic and restorative treatments for you to pick. Listen carefully to the pros and cons of each procedure, and imagine how each would fit into your life. Also make sure to be as upfront as possible with your dentist about what you want from your new smile; if you communicate honestly, he or she can help you make well-informed decisions. 
4. Be mindful of your timeline. Depending on what’s included, your smile makeover could take a bit of time to achieve. For instance, porcelain veneers can have you smiling wide in as little as a few weeks, whereas Invisalign^® can take up to two years to show results. Let your dentist know about your own desired timeframe.
5. Ask about maintenance. Many cosmetic dentistry processes require maintenance to keep your smile intact, whether that includes wearing a retainer or attending follow-up appointments. Be sure that the post-procedure care is something you can commit to.
6. Get a preview. Using advanced technology or a trial smile, your dentist can often give you mockups of what your smile should look like at the end of your makeover. 
7. Don’t wait! So many smile makeover patients wonder why they waited so long! Beginning the process earlier can minimize the work you need done, while putting it off could result in you needing additional procedures to achieve your desired result.

Our skilled cosmetic dentists – Lance Alder, DDS and Jacob Barton, DDS – are excited to help you plan your customized smile makeover. Are you ready to flash a brand new smile? Contact us today!

Editor’s note: This blog was originally posted on April 15th, 2020.